Broadcast lacquer study

[SueDenim]

A very interesting and super-detailed study of lacquers used for broadcast transcription:
https://notrehistoirech.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/z/l/Typology_guide_RTS_lacquer_discs.pdf

[emidisc]

Fascinating thanks for sharing

[Soulbear]

A Veritable Treasure Trove, spent most of the day reading it. Many of the "Top Secret" and "Impossible to Replicate" and so many of the "Naysayers" MYTHS are completely demolished here. So, to make Lacquer Blanks Millions of dollars of investement needed?? Nah!! Curtain Coaters and Massive infrastructre needed??Nah!! I read here that Cecil Watts managed to produce Lacquer Blanks in not much more than an Office with a Spray Gun!! Chemical Formulation undiscoverable!!Nah All the ingredients or their equivalents were found in next to no time on the web. Preparation of the substrate impossible?? Nah Wonderful discussion on the "Wartime" repurposing/recycling of pre-used Old Blanks (Already Made eh?) Hundreds of Old Laquers are available and for sale on the web, a great supply of Ready Made Substrates !!! OH Hum!!! Time now for the Mastering Houses to stop crying about the Tragic Apollo Fire, take their hands off the Knobs and and Sliders of the EQ's and Mixers in the Studio, and Get out and have Play with something maybe a little out of their comfort zones. With a little bit of Acetone for cleaning, a little bit of ingenuity and experimentation, who knowa where this might lead?? Where there's a will or so they say......... A great post/share by SueDenim which I feel is deserving of much greater prominence than being stuck down here in the Library. A Great Read, Kudos, or as my old friend Patrick might say to you SueDenim, Maximum Respect!! Soulbear

[emorritt]

This product might be a good starting point; it's available in black and maybe with some castor oil and other ingredients, might make a good coating for recording discs. AND, you might not blow yourself up in the process...

https://www.hirschauto.com/GALLON-NITROCELLULOSE-LACQUER/productinfo/NITL-GAL/

It's also available in clear, which might be a better choice, so you could add a suitable dye and other thickening or plasticizing ingredients for a mixture more like a formula for recording discs.

And for a substrate that's pretty close to what they run through a curtain coater:

https://www.restaurantsupply.com/pizza-pan-separators

These are aluminum discs that are polished and used to separate dough in a pizza restaurant.

[Soulbear]

This product might be a good starting point; it's available in black and maybe with some castor oil and other ingredients, might make a good coating for recording discs. AND, you might not blow yourself up in the process...

https://www.hirschauto.com/GALLON-NITROCELLULOSE-LACQUER/productinfo/NITL-GAL/

It's also available in clear, which might be a better choice, so you could add a suitable dye and other thickening or plasticizing ingredients for a mixture more like a formula for recording discs.

And for a substrate that's pretty close to what they run through a curtain coater:

https://www.restaurantsupply.com/pizza-pan-separators

These are aluminum discs that are polished and used to separate dough in a pizza restaurant.

Eric, More time and closer reading of this remarkable document shows that in no small way, you, along with Alan Graves made great contributions to it, your modesty does you credit. Kudos to both of you In light of the Apollo Transco Fire disaster, I really thought this thread would have had more interest shown
Some further fabulous ideas here you present here (Pizza Pan Separators GENIUS!!), sounds more than quite doable. By doable I mean in this context :- which means “practicable” and feasible, which again in this context means “possible.”
The deeper I read into this topic the more interesting it seems to be. Though I have no real need, if I can make the time, I might just have a "Play Around" just to see what, if anything, I can produce by way of a Lacquer just for fun Soulbear

[emorritt]

Thanks for the kind words, Soulbear. I've been wanting to try an experiment and ordered the pizza separators. The sizes aren't exact, but close enough to mess with. My original plan was to order a large container of nail polish, which is already very close to the lacquer formula used for recording discs and try coating a couple of them, but my work especially after the onset of COVID-19 has left little to no time for hobbies at the moment. I will have to say I'm very impressed with the Blanq discs (I think his name is Aaron) as I've ordered some of those and tried them. Surprisingly, they cut very well and very quietly using old style steel cutting styluses. They have no burnishing facets, which after trying a sapphire, I understand why diamonds aren't made with those facets, since they basically destroy the groove as its cut. For lacquer, they produce an amazing groove, but are not good for harder substances like plastic or vinyl.

[emorritt]

Don't know if this information would be of any help but I did some in-depth digging through old literature and publications that I have and started thinking if anyone involved with Transco was still living, maybe someone might have some insight as to the lacquer formulation, since everyone is so tight-lipped about it.

[Phinster]

Fascinating if somewhat eccentric study!